


Walking Shadows

by lucidscreamer



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Background Het, Character Death, F/M, Fictional Locations, Gallows Humor, Hurricanes & Typhoons, M/M, Magic-Users, Magical Artifacts, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Not a Crossover, Sennen Items | Millennium Items, Slash, Survival Horror, Tags May Change, Trauma Bonding, Violence Against Zombies, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2019-10-18 16:32:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17584376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucidscreamer/pseuds/lucidscreamer
Summary: When he accepted the invitation to attend the Pacific Gaming and Technology Expo, Yugi Mutou's main consideration was that it was essentially a free trip to the Solitaire Islands for him and his best friend and fellow Duelist, Joey Wheeler.No one mentioned zombies.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. No ownership of the canon characters, settings, or events is claimed and none should be implied. 
> 
> Note: Despite the title, this story has nothing (beyond the fact that there are zombies) to do with 'The Walking Dead'. While they bear some things in common with Romero zombies, mine do have some unique aspects to tie them into the Yu-Gi-Oh mythos and I claim credit for creating them.
> 
> Any resemblance between the fictional Solitaire Islands and real geography, living or dead (or undead), is purely coincidental.

_And the angels sob at vermin fangs_

_In human gore imbued._

\--Poe, _The Conqueror Worm_

　

　

(Prologue)

When he had accepted the invitation to attend the Pacific Gaming and Technology Expo, Yugi Mutou's main consideration had been that it was essentially a free trip to the Solitaire Islands for him and his best friend, Joey Wheeler. In exchange for some exhibition dueling and attending a few discussion panels, Yugi would get an expense-paid week of sun, surf, and games. There didn't seem to be a downside.

No one mentioned zombies.


	2. Chapter 1

Yugi's first exhibition duel went off without a hitch (and with him as the victor, an outcome that had surprised exactly no one but his opponent). Afterward, Yugi went looking for Joey and found him waiting in a VIP room overlooking the auditorium where the dueling platform had been placed. He accepted Joey's congratulations with aplomb -- and his invitation to go find lunch with greater enthusiasm. Dueling worked up an appetite, even when it was against a comparative lightweight like Zigfried von Schroeder.

The convention center held a food court with a variety of eateries in addition to the world-class restaurant on the upper level. Naturally, Yugi gravitated toward the restaurant that specialized in burgers. On the way, they passed a huge poster -- easily ten feet tall -- for a new Duel Monsters expansion set. Front and center was a large-than-life emaciated corpse, its red eyes glowing (thanks to cleverly placed LEDs) in a gray-skinned face. Its rotting hands, covered in dripping gore, reached out as if to grasp the viewer. Artistic blood spatters overlayed the image, and the silhouettes of an entire horde of similar monstrous corpses lurking behind the main zombie completed the picture.

"Ugh," Joey said, staring up at the poster. "That's almost enough to put me off my lunch."

"Don't look, then." Yugi wasn't letting anything get between him and his promised burger. His stomach growled as if to encourage his steps toward the food court level. "C'mon, I'm starving!"

"Yeah, yeah." With a final shake of his head, Joey turned away from the display and started walking again. "Ya got anything else scheduled for today?"

Yugi nodded absently, most of his attention on scanning the handy signs for the walkway that would take them to the burger place. "Not 'til this afternoon, but I've got a panel at... 2:30? I'll have to check my itenerary."

"Listen at you!" Joey smirked at him. "'Itenerary'. It's almost like you're adulting or something."

"Shut up," Yugi suggested, grinning. He spotted the sign for the burger restaurant. "There it is! Let's go. I don't want to have to gulp down my food, but I also want some time to prepare before the panel."

" _Such_ an adult."

Still snickering, Joey followed him to the eatery, which was apparently owned by some famous chef. Appropriately enough, it was called "Burger." Joey laughed at that, too.

　

o0o

　

As it turned out, Burger made some pretty fine burgers, though Joey had a field day making fun of some of the more exotic options on the menu. ("Ground beets do not a burger make, buddy.") After their delicious meal ("These onions are hot pink, Yugi." "Just eat them, Joey."), the two friends decided to take a walk and explore more of the resort. It was a beautiful day, the sky a clear sharp blue that was reflected in the cerulean waters of the lagoon visible from the Kaiba Center. The heat struck Yugi as they exited the air-conditioned building, but it wasn't yet oppressive. The slight breeze helped, he thought, raising his chin and feeling the air brush over his face and tug at his hair.

"Where to?" Joey pulled out his phone and showed Yugi the map of the island resort that they'd been issued as part of their welcome packet.

"Let's just wander around and see what there is to see," Yugi said. He was still a bit jet-lagged, but a leisurely stroll in the tropical setting might be just the thing. Especially since it looked like a good way to avoid being waylaid by enthusiastic fans. While he appreciated his fans, Yugi just didn't have the energy to deal with them right now. "So far, all we've seen is the airport, the Kaiba Center, and the road in between. I'm sure there's more to this island than that, so let's try to see some of it."

"Sounds good." Joey put his phone away. "I think there's some kinda sports complex behind here--" He waved at the building and beyond it, vaguely in-land. "--and that fancy hotel casino dealy is over thataway."

Yugi's gaze involuntarily followed Joey's gesturing hand and he squinted into the bright sunlight. He thought he could just glimpse the top of the purported hotel above the waving crowns of the palm trees. Walking paths branched from the center courtyard into a lushly planted garden, dotted with decorative statuary, fountains, and benches. It would be an attractive walk, if nothing else. He set off toward the distant hotel, just for a direction to go, and Joey kept pace beside him.

The walking paths were paved with natural stone and lined with some kind of crushed seashells that were blinding white in the sun. Low and raised beds held various plants: hibiscus blooms as big as his hand, nodding green leaves the size and shape of elephant ears, and a profusion of tropical shrubs, trees, and flowers he had no names for. The thick plantings soon blocked out the sight of the buildings, as if they were walking through an impossibly tidy jungle. The air was heavy and humid, redolent with the perfume of a thousand flowers. There were surprisingly few people about, and a hush fell over them as they walked deeper into the shade of the garden, broken only by the scuff of their shoes on the stones, the rustle of movement in the thick foliage, and the occasional outburst of birdsong.

And then there was something moaning and hissing, and lurching through a break in the lush plantings. The thing was gray-skinned and red-eyed, and clothed entirely in bloody rags. Its outstretched arms clawed the air, reaching for Yugi. Now it was close enough that he could see the strips of rotting flesh hanging off its face, the dark crimson smears on its teeth and hands, the...

...pamphlet it was holding out to him?

Joey yelped, grabbed Yugi's collar and swung him out of the thing's reach, then picked up the nearest object (unfortunately, a fallen palm frond) and slapped the creature in the snarling face.

"Hey, man! Watch it!" the zombie said, dropping the act and ducking away from the flailing palm frond.

"You, _you_ \--!" was all Joey managed, still swatting at what was now clearly a man in theatrical make-up and contacts. "What the _hell_ , dude?!"

"Sorry." The actor-zombie didn't sound particularly apologetic. "It's my job."

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud. It's like a perfume counter ambush but with more blood and guts," Joey complained. Letting go of his death-grip on Yugi and dropping his leafy weapon, Joey snatched the pamphlet from the "zombie's" hand.

Now that Yugi was looking, he spotted several more actors dressed in rags and corpse-like theatrical make-up lurching around the garden. He sighed wearily. "It's a publicity stunt."

"Yeah." Joey's sour tone revealed his thoughts on the matter. "Promotin' that damn expansion set." He flipped the pamphlet over so Yugi could read the cover, which featured the same art as on the enormous poster they'd seen earlier.

Weakly, Yugi said, "I think I'd like to go back inside, now." He wondered if he looked as pale as he felt. "I need to get ready for my afternoon panel, anyway."

Joey nodded. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea, pal. Let's go."

The "zombie" shuffled off back into the greenery, presumably to give some other hapless conventioneer a heart-attack. Joe and Yugi headed back inside the Kaiba Center. As they passed the fountain in the center of the atrium, someone screamed -- followed by slightly hysterical laughter. Another zombie ambush, Yugi guessed and shook his head. "Come on, we've got a panel to get to."

"Yeah, sure -- Just so long as there's no freakin' zombies in the audience!"

　

o0o

　

Some time during the night, the gorgeous weather had taken a vacation of its own, because Yugi woke up to a sullen sky weighted down with leaden clouds. From his hotel room window, he could see whitecaps racing across the usually placid lagoon. Beyond the reef, the water looked wild and dangerous as it flung itself toward the shore. Closer to the building, the palm trees thrashed against the sky, a further testament to the rising winds.

He hoped the approaching storm wasn't going to be a severe one.

Anxious to take his mind off the weather, Yugi hurried through his morning ablutions, and then spent ten minutes fighting with his hair before giving it up as a lost cause. The tropical humidity meant his normally unruly tresses were completely uncontrollable, even with copious amounts of hair gel.

Yugi had barely finished dressing when Joey knocked on the door. He looked frazzled, blond hair standing up as if he'd been running his hands through it. "You checked your messages yet?"

"No." Yugi looked around for his phone, then remembered he'd left it in his pants pocket the night before. As he was rummaging around in the pile of stuff on his nightstand, he asked, "Why?"

"Got a text from the organizers. If the storm's as bad as they say it might be, we may have to evacuate over to the big island." Joey was peering out the window at the bruised sky. "Assuming it's safe to fly, anyway."

Having finally unearthed his phone from beneath yesterday's clothes, Yugi tried to turn it on, and then grimaced. Dead. He sighed. Why did he always forget to charge the darned thing?

He shoved the useless hunk of plastic into an outer pocket on his carry-on bag, which he'd left on a chair near the bed. "Any idea what we're supposed to do in the meantime? I had another duel scheduled for--" He glanced around for the clock. "--about an hour from now. Is it cancelled?"

"Dunno. I didn't get an announcement, if it is." Joey turned from the window. "Where's your phone?"

"Dead."

Joey shook his head knowingly. "You wanna head down for breakfast? We can ask around, see if your duel's still on."

"Yeah." Yugi sent a last look out the window. The clouds looked even more threatening, hanging low and gray over the resort. He thought he saw the flicker of distant lightning out over the ocean. "Let's do that."

　

o0o

　

There was a breakfast buffet set up downstairs; convention goers were already clustered around the tables or perusing the various offerings. The biggest clusters were around the coffee stations, Yugi noted as he made his way to a miraculously empty table, plate in hand. A few minutes later, Joey joined him with his own plate piled high with Belgian waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream. He'd garnished the stack with a jelly donut and several strips of bacon. Plopping down onto the seat opposite Yugi, Joey immediately began stuffing his face with food.

Yugi had barely taken a bite of his own meal when the PA system crackled to life and a calm male voice called for attention.

"May I have your attention, please. Due to concerns about Tropical Storm Ushio, we are canceling all convention activities until further notice. At this time, we ask that all attendees prepare for precautionary evacuation to Patience Island, the largest in our archipeligo."

The announcement continued, with instructions for what they would be allowed to take with them on the flight, and asking those who required special accomodations to gather in the atrium to speak with a representative from the airline. The first evacuation flight would leave in half an hour, the voice over the speakers said; all flights afterward would proceed in alphabetical order. As they were evacuating not only the people at the Kaiba Center, but those from the other facilities on the island, the flights were expected to take all day.

"I guess we need to pack." Fortunately, most of his belongings were still in his suitcase. Yugi figured he could shove everything he'd really need into his carry-on bag. He began making a mental checklist. "We need to make sure we stick together--"

" _Yug'_!" Joey's voice had that note that meant he'd been trying to interrupt for some time.

"Huh?" Yugi looked over at his friend, who had a strip of bacon danging from his lips and a worried look in his eyes.

"We're not gonna be on the same flight, buddy." Joey dropped the half-eaten bacon onto his plate, grimaced down at it, then shoved the plate away. "'M' ain't nowhere near 'W'."

Oh. Somehow, that hadn't even occured to Yugi. He gaped at Joey a second before his mouth snapped shut and his shoulders squared. "No way! No way am I getting on a plane without you."

Joey shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "Whatcha gonna do, then? Swim ta the other island? Eh, no worries. It'll be okay."

"It _will_ be okay." Yugi unfolded his napkin and began wrapping up everything on his plate that was transportable. "Because we're sticking together. Grab your breakfast and come on. We'll go back to our rooms and finish eating while we get ready to leave." He glanced up to give Joey a stern look. "They can't make me go without you, Joey. You'll see."

On the way to the elevator, they passed another of the promotional zombies, bent over a dark shape on the floor, half-hidden behind a potted palm in the corner.

"That's so creepy," Joey said, as they hurried past. "Remind me not to buy any of those damned cards."

"Yeah."

　


	3. Chapter 2

After they'd both stuffed as much of the contents of their luggage as they could into a couple of carry-on bags, Yugi and Joey returned to the atrium. The glass front gave a good, if tinted, view of the sky and the approaching storm. Probably, the tint made the clouds look worse than they were in reality; the view through the glass wall resembled the approach of armageddon. The playful whitecaps had evolved into mad breakers throwing themselves against the rocks in impressive displays of foamy suicide. Sporadic gusts of wind whipped the palm trees into frenzied gyrations, and stripped away fronds to fling them at the building. Nature, Yugi thought facetiously, appeared to be throwing a temper tantrum.

"Good grief." Joey stepped closer to the glass and peered out. Lightning cracked its whip across the sky and, as if that were a catalyst, a sudden, driving rain began to beat down on the courtyard. "Are those people out there? They must be nuts."

Yugi squinted into the downpour. He could just make out the indistinct shapes of people, lurching into the force of the wind and rain. Most of them were trudging away from the shelter of the building, which he didn't understand until he noticed the airport shuttle driving slowly away. Thanks to the poor visibility, the small bus was moving at a crawl. Maybe the people had been left behind and were trying to catch up to it?

From behind them, a loud voice called out for the next evacuation group to form up by the information desk at the back of the atrium. They were just reaching 'J through K', though, so he ignored them.

He tugged the sleeve of Joey's jacket to get his attention. Together, they drifted along the outer perimeter of the atrium, now crowded with anxious or irritated convention goers, until they found an unoccupied against the wall. Joey slumped down on the leather cushion, shoved his bulging carry-on bag under the bench, and leaned his head against the wall.

"Think they'll get everybody off the island before the storm really hits?" he asked in a tired voice.

Yugi shrugged. It had looked pretty rough out there already, and he really had no idea how bad the weather had to be before the conditions were unsafe for flying. If he'd been forced to guess, he would've said it was already too bad. "I sure hope so."

Before Joey could respond, an obnoxiously loud voice cut through the relative quiet of their little refuge. "--not care! I have my own jet and should be allowed to use it!"

"Look, von Schroeder," growled a deeper (and, to Yugi's ear, extremely fed up) voice. "If you want to put your plane to good use and help get more people off this island, that's one thing. But if you think I'm giving you priority over the official evacuation flights just so you can hog the runway to save your own sorry ass, you're out of your tiny little mind."

Peeking around the corner, Yugi spotted Zigfried von Schroeder's distinctive pink hair. The other duelist was glaring at a tall, pale skinned, dark haired man in an immaculate, white, three-piece suit. While Yugi had only seen him at the opening ceremony, Yugi easily recognized Seto Kaiba, one of the convention sponsors and brother of Kaiba Corp's famous CEO, Mokuba Kaiba. Seto was looking down his nose at Zigfried as if the man was a particularly smelly substance he'd just scraped off the bottom of his shoe.

"If it will get me away from here, then I suppose I have no choice but to agree." Zigfried made it sound as if he were making a great sacrifice in the name of self-preservation. "I can perhaps take a very small group, in addition to my entourage."

Seto appeared to be holding back an eye-roll of truly massive proportions. "...You do that." He glanced around, then waved over a tall, dark skinned woman with a tablet and a harried expression. "Erica, Mr. von Schroeder has _graciously_ \--" Seto sneered the word. "--agreed to assist in the evacuation efforts. Please see to it that the current evacuation group boards his plane."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba." Erica gave von Schroeder a professional smile. "If you'll come with me, sir." She stalked off, already tapping busily at her tablet and not giving Zigfried any choice but to follow at her heels.

Seto sighed, shoulders relaxing a bit from their previous rigid posture, and for a moment he looked exhausted. After only a second, he straightened, reaching into his pocket to pull out a cell phone (it must have been on silent, because Yugi hadn't heard it ring), and put it to his ear. _"What? ..._ Yes, we're working on it. Have you gotten everyone out of the hotel yet?"

Not wanting to eavesdrop further, Yugi retreated. He found Joey staring at his own phone like the device had eaten his last jelly donut. "What's wrong? ...Joey?"

"Huh?" Joey startled out of his reverie. "Oh. I was just tryin' to call my sister." He glanced toward the front of the atrium, even though they really couldn't see outside from here. "Y'know, let her know we're okay. But there's no service."

What? Then how had Seto gotten a call? Yugi glanced back around the corner. Maybe that wasn't a phone after all, but some sort of walkie-talkie or something for strictly local communication? He was still staring at the device, trying to decide if it was a phone or not, when Seto looked up and caught him at it. Yugi could feel his face flushing with embarrassment. He tried to turn away, but something in Seto's icy blue eyes pinned him in place. Not looking away from Yugi, Seto started toward him.

"I'll check back in with you in a few minutes," Seto said in his possibly-not-a-phone, and then slipped it into his jacket just as he reached their bench. "Yugi Mutou?"

"Um, yes?" Yugi got to his feet, uncomfortable with the taller man looming over him. "And this is Joey Wheeler."

Seto barely spared Joey a glance. "Mr. Mutou, your evacuation group is gathering by the information desk. Did you not hear the announcement?"

Actually, Yugi hadn't (because he knew he wasn't going with them, so he hadn't bothered listening for it), but he didn't think admitting that would win him any points with Seto Kaiba. "No, sorry. But I'm not going with that group, so--"

Seto's icy gaze sharpened and, somehow, the blue of his eyes seemed to get brighter. The change was almost mesmerizing. "Don't tell me _you_ have your own plane, too."

"No! Nothing like that. It's just--"

Seto overrode him with a growl. "You know, I'm getting very tired of people expecting special treatment when I'm trying to save lives."

"Hey!" Joey leaped to his feet and to his friend's defence. "Yugi ain't like that!"

"Then what _are_ you like, Mr. Mutou?" Seto challenged, again ignoring Joey in favor of setting that piercing gaze squarely on Yugi.

Yugi lifted his chin. "I just want to stay with my friend. You can let someone from his group take my place on the earlier flight."

For a moment, it seemed as if Seto would argue. Then he nodded. "Fine. We're trying to keep families together, so I suppose we can consider you a couple, if that's what you want. But you do realize that 'Wheeler' is at the end of the alphabet?"

"We know how to spell, thanks." Tired of being dismissed, Joey leaned into Seto's personal space and sneered at him.

"Then you must realize you could take the earlier flight if _you_ were also a Mutou, rather than _him_ being a Wheeler."

"Uh." Joey looked poleaxed at the suggestion, then flushed beet red.

Yugi shook his head. "I wouldn't feel right asking someone to take a later flight on my account."

That pronouncement seemed to elevate him at least slightly in Seto's estimation, because the man's glower lost some of its fire. "Very well. I'll inform--"

A shrill electronic tone interrupted him. Growling, he yanked out the small black device again. This time, Yugi was sure it wasn't a phone, even though it was about the same size as one. It didn't look like any walkie-talkie he'd ever seen, though.

"Yami, I told you--" What color there was in Seto's complexion drained from his face at whatever he heard. "Are you sure?"

As he spoke, Seto took a few steps away from the wall, craning his neck as if searching for someone or something in the crowded atrium. His mouth flattened into a thin line, the skin around his lips going bloodless with tension.

Curious, Yugi looked around, trying to find what Kaiba might be searching for. Being shorter than Seto, it wasn't easy. At first, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary (assuming one ignored the zombified actors still scattered around the large space). When he glanced back at Kaiba, Yugi was startled to see that the man had gone as still as a marble statue (which, with his bloodless complexion and white suit, he somewhat resembled). Kaiba's piercing blue eyes were staring fixedly at the front of the room.

Yugi couldn't make out much from where he was standing -- there were too many bodies between him and the entrance and, unlike the unreasonably tall Seto Kaiba, he couldn't simply peer over their heads. "What's going on?"

As if in response to his question, there was a massive crash as the glass wall at the front of the room exploded inward. The already noisy space erupted with screams as people rushed away from the damage. The roar of the wind was deafening in the enclosed space.

"What the hell just happened?!" Joey practically had to yell to make himself heard over the cacophony.

Instead of answering him, Seto jerked the not-phone back up to his ear. Surprising Yugi, Seto didn't yell, apparently expecting whoever he was speaking to to be able to hear him despite the chaos surrounding them. "There's been a breach of security at the center. And by that I mean there's a damn palm tree sticking out of the front wall of the atrium. Get over here, _now_!"

With that, he shoved the not-phone in his pocket and started to stride away. Joey grabbed his arm and got towed along for a step or two before Seto halted to glare at him.

"Wait a minute! What's goin' on?" Joey demanded, keeping a firm grip on Seto's sleeve with one hand while the other maintained a hold on Yugi. "We got a right to know what's happenin' here, you know!"

"A palm tree just crashed through the wall," Seto said flatly. "Since you were looking right at it, I assumed I you could figure it out for yourself."

"Look, jackass--"

"Joey!" Yugi managed to insinuate himself between the two taller men, forcing Joey to back off physically if not metaphorically. With an apologetic smile, Yugi turned back to Seto. "Sorry. We're just worried."

Whatever Seto might have said in response was interrupted by the arrival of a harried looking man in a dark suit. "Mr. Kaiba! Are you all right?"

"Roland. Good -- I need you to clear the atrium. Get everyone into the auditorium for now and put security on all the doors, just in case." He didn't elaborate on 'just in case' what. "And send someone to board that up." He gestured at the opening in the glass, which was letting in wind-driven rain and debris.

"Yes, sir." Roland didn't seem surprised at his boss' abruptness; he just hurried off to do as he'd been ordered.

A few seconds later, the announcement came over the loud speakers for guests and staff alike to assemble in the main auditorium. Seto spared them an impatient glance. "Why are you still here?"

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Yugi asked.

Seto sighed. "You can help by going to the auditorium with the other guests. I don't have time to babysit you."

"Hey!"

"No, Joey, he's right. We're keeping him from doing his job." Yugi started nudging Joey back toward their abandoned bench. "Sorry, again, Mr. Kaiba. We'll get out of your way, now."

A sharp nod was the only indication Seto gave of having heard Yugi's apology as he strode off toward the front of the atrium. Beside Yugi, Joey still looked ready to fight, but he followed Yugi without protest when he headed back to where they'd left their luggage.

"We'll just get our bags and then we'll go to the auditorium," Yugi was saying as he fit action to words and bent to pull their carry-on bags from beneath the bench. "I'm sure they'll make an announcement once it's clear and--"

"Holy cats!" Joey exclaimed, interrupting Yugi's muttering.

"What?" Yugi straightened from his crouch and shoved Joey's bag at him. "What is it, Joey?"

To his surprise, Joey flushed and shook his head. He snagged his luggage and slipped the strap over his shoulder. "Nothin', Yug'. I'm seein' things is all."

"Huh?"

"Eh..." Joey rubbed at the back of his neck. "I was keepin' an eye on Kaiba and... I coulda sworn he just lifted that freakin' palm tree by himself."

What--? Yugi turned to follow the direction of Joey's gaze. Now that the room had mostly emptied -- as staff herded the guests toward the corridor leading to the auditorium -- Yugi had a clear view of the enormous tree that had crashed through the glass front of the building. It had arrived crown-first, and bent and broken fronds lay scattered on a carpet of rain water and glittering glass.

"Uh, the tree looks like it's still there, Joey."

"Well, it was _more_ there a minute ago. Trust me." So saying, Joey shouldered his bag and started toward the front of the atrium at a fast walk. After a moment, Yugi trotted after him.

The courtyard beyond the shattered glass wall was barely visible through the driving rain. The roots of the upended tree formed a tangle that managed to mostly block the lower half of opening. But, even as Yugi stared at it, the tree shifted and seemed to inch back through the broken wall, as if something were pushing it back out into the storm. _What the hell_ \--?

"Hey, Kaiba!" Joey called, peering through the palm fronds. "You in there?"

At first, the only response was the continuing howl of the storm. Then an irritated voice issued from the other side of the downed tree. "What are you two morons still doing here?"

Yugi jumped, twisting around to find Seto Kaiba glaring at him from where he'd suddenly appeared atop the trunk of the palm. Seto folded his arms and snarled down at them. "You're supposed to be in the damn auditorium with the rest of the guests!"

"I know, but--"

"It isn't safe out here," Seto snapped, cutting off Yugi's excuse.

As if to prove his point, a metal bench came flying out of the courtyard and smashed into the side of the building, barely missing the mostly-intact remains of the glass wall. Moving slightly to one side, Yugi found he could just make out a few slow-moving shapes approaching through the nearly horizontal downpour.

"There are people out there!" He sent an apalled look at Seto. "Surely you didn't send your staff out into the storm--"

"Of course not. What are you talking about?" Seto turned so he could see what Yugi had and his expression instantly darkened. "You need to get to the auditorium. _Now_."

"What? But--"

Another shape was moving through the torrential rain, far more swiftly than the others. When one of the slower figures grabbed at them, the new person tossed the first one aside and kept running. The figure on the ground struggled unsteadily back to its feet and followed after, but the new guy didn't look back. A few seconds later, the indistinct blur appeared in the gaping hole in the wall and resolved into a soaking wet man. He leaped nimbly over the barrier of the tree's roots, and landed gracefully in front of a very startled Yugi.

Finding himself face to face with a startlingly handsome face dominated by intense dark eyes, it took longer than it probably should have for Yugi to realize that the man's clothing was covered in blood.

　

o0o

 


	4. Chapter 3

_Earlier the same day_...

Yami King was supervising the evacuation of the casino when he felt it: a malevolence that seemed to appear out of nowhere, as if the source had been masked and was only now revealing itself. He shuddered at the power of it, the sheer hatred beneath the chaotic force that was suddenly beating against his mental shields.

Even as he flung up his defenses, he called out to his nearest ally. "Ishizu!"

Ishizu Ishtar immediately turned her own task over to an underling and hastened over to where Yami stood beneath the awning of the loading bay.

"Yami!" Ishizu arrived at a run, one hand holding up the long skirts of her loose linen shift in a mostly futile effort to keep the hem out of the puddles collecting on the stone pavement. "Are you all right? I felt your pain through our connection!"

So she had sensed his reaction to the disturbance, if not the disturbance itself. Unsurprising, as his connection to the magic had always been stronger than any of the others'. Impatiently, Yami waved away her concern, as his own reaction (and the headache that had begun to throb in his temples), was unimportant right now. "I'm fine. But an enemy has just made himself known to me, and I fear that we soon will have more to worry about than simply the weather."

"An enemy? Who?"

"I don't know." Until whoever it was had dropped the magic that shielded them, Yami hadn't even know they were there. He could still feel the reverberation of that alien power through the Shadows. "Whoever they are, they have real power, tainted though it may be."

Ishizu raised both hands to frame the _udjat_ amulet that rested at the base of her throat. With her back to the crowd of guests boarding the shuttle bus that would take them to the island's small airport for evacuation, no one but Yami could see as the amulet began to glow. Eyes closed in concentration, Ishizu held that pose for several seconds. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked both troubled and disappointed.

"Yes... They are indeed powerful, capable of shielding their identity from my vision." Her brow creased into a deeper frown. "It's as if the Shadows themselves are hiding this sorcerer from me."

"And from me, as well." With Yami's close connection to the Shadows, such deception shouldn't be possible. Or, if it was, the cost in life-energy would be enormous for the spellcaster. That the Shadows would act against their jailor if given the chance was, unfortunately, neither surprising nor unexpected.

"What should we do?" Ishizu asked.

Briefly, Yami considered his options. "First, we make sure the last of our guests and staff are on their way to the airport. Once the hotel and casino are clear, I want you and Mahaad to go to the airport and collect Karim. I'll try to contact Seto, and then head for the Kaiba Center. We'll rendezvous there."

"Strength in numbers." She nodded her approval. "Mahaad is still inside. I will ask him to make certain everyone has evacuated the building."

She pulled out one of walkies they all used for personal communication on the island. Less complex than a cell phone but with more range and function than a standard walkie-talkie, the walkies were a result of Seto's paranoia and love of tinkering with technology. Since the devices benefited their group by giving them a reliable means of staying connected even when the cell network or power grid failed, Yami had embraced their use with his usual pragmatism.

"Mahaad is checking the building," she said, adjusting the walkie's controls. "You're certain Seto is at the convention center?"

"He spent five minutes ranting about having to go deal with Maximillion Pegasus and that Austrian duelist, as they were refusing to co-operate with the staff," Yami said, impatiently ending his own attempt at a call. "So, I'm sure he's there. Even if he _isn't answering me_ \--" He adjusted the frequency and waited for a response. "Have your brothers returned from their trip, yet?"

She shook her head, most of her attention on the call she was attempting to make. "They were on the last flight into Trefoil, but Odion said the airport had canceled all outbound traffic due to the storm," Ishizu said, even as her mouth turned down and she glared at the walkie. "And Karim is not answering." She sighed. "He's probably forgotten to take his walkie with him. Or dropped it into a fountain. _Again_."

Unlike Seto, Karim was _not_ a fan of modern technology. Karim's ability to lose, break, or "forget" about any and all manifestations of it was legendary. Sometimes, Yami suspected it was all an act just so Karim could get away with hiding out in the jungle and pretending he was Robinson Crusoe.

The sound of someone answering his page snapped his attention back to the walkie in his hand. A familiar male voice came from the speaker. "Go for Mokuba."

"Thank _Netjer_ \--" Quickly, Yami explained about the danger he'd sensed, and urged the younger man to do what he could to make certain anyone remaining at the convention center was safe. "I'll keep trying to reach Seto, but if you see him, pass along the warning and have him contact me at once. And, Mokuba, if something does happen, take shelter in the penthouse. We'll find you."

After receiving Mokuba's reassurance that he would do so, Yami again tried Seto's frequency. This time, he got a response.

" _What_?" Seto snapped, his voice betraying both impatience and a tension that Yami knew he was about to increase.

"Seto, the evacuation--"

"Yes, we're working on it. Have you gotten everyone out of the hotel yet?"

Yami watched as the shuttle drove out into the rain. "The last bus is just leaving. Assuming everyone obeyed our instructions, the Palace is empty. Mahaad is inside right now, checking the hotel and casino for any stragglers."

"Good." Seto sounded distracted. "If that's all, I have to go wrangle some idiots--"

"No, that's not all," Yami quickly interjected. "There's someone on the island who's messing with shadow magic. I felt them when they let down their guard. They're powerful, Seto. This could be a real problem."

"I'll check back in with you in a few minutes." Seto disconnected before Yami could get another word in.

With a huff of annoyance, Yami tucked the walkie away. Ishizu was staring out into the increasing downpour, hands cupped around her the centerpiece of her necklace as she probed the Shadows. "Any luck?"

She shook her head. "Nothing concrete... There's a looming darkness, and a sense of hatred, anger... It is difficult to focus on, with the Shadows interference, but..." Letting her hands fall to her sides, she met his gaze. "This feels like more than just someone stumbling across a way to access the Shadows by accident. It feels focused, maybe even as powerful as one of us."

That was bad news, albeit not unexpected. After all, Yami had sensed the interloper's power for himself. He could still feel the restlessness of the Shadows as they tested their restraints with more force than they had used in centuries. It was already uncomfortable; soon, it would cause him real pain. He laid his hand atop the pyramid shaped pendant, small enough to fit within his palm, that rested on its gold chain over his heart. He had a feeling that defeating this new enemy was going to require all of his priests. He would need their strength to bolster his power. Luckily, everyone but Odion was on the island, and he was at least in the same island chain. Perhaps, if they could establish contact, that would prove near enough for him to lend his strength -- and that of his Item -- to the effort.

"We'll need everyone for this," Yami mused aloud. Over Ishizu's shoulder, he could see Mahaad hastily making his way over to them.

Following Yami's gaze, Ishizu turned to address her husband as Mahaad shifted nearer to the wall in an attempt to avoid the rain that was blowing under the rattling awning. "Is the Palace clear?"

"I didn't hear any heartbeats inside," Mahaad said. He brushed fastidiously at the gray silk sleeve of his jacket, now spotted with moisture from the wind-driven rain. "Have you heard from Karim?"

"No, and Seto is being... Seto." Yami frowned as he caught sight of movement in the rain that wasn't merely foliage or debris being blown about by the wind. "I see someone-- Karim? Is that you?"

The human shape stumbled, as if the wind had almost knocked it off its feet. As it neared, it became evident that there was something off about it. Yami's temples throbbed with an echo of his earlier pain and his hand instinctively clenched around the Pendant.

"That-- That is not Karim," Mahaad said, voice grim, as the figure staggered under the awning and they all got a good look at it. "Nor is it human."

Without the veil of the rain, it was clear that the figure was not only not human, it was no longer alive. One of its arms was missing from the elbow joint down, the jagged ends of the broken bones clearly visible where they protruded from the bloody stump. Its throat was a mass of ripped flesh, black with old blood. The stench of death that proceded the thing was enough to make the three observers gag and stop breathing in order to avoid the putrid smell.

When Yami moved to deal with the creature, Mahaad threw out an arm to hold him back. "No. I'll take care of it."

Very efficiently, Mahaad ripped out the creature's dead heart, crushed it, then smashed its skull to destroy the brain inside. He looked to Yami, then. "What is your command?"

Yami explained the plan he'd already laid out for Ishizu. He wasn't entirely surprised when Mahaad objected to leaving Yami on his own, but, "So, you'd leave your wife to go off on her own? Really, Mahaad."

"You know why--" Mahaad began.

"I didn't object before," Ishizu interjected, "because I knew that he would do it for me." She smirked at her sheepish-looking husband. "But Mahaad is right, Yami. I'll be fine on my own as far as the airport. Once there, I'll have Karim for back-up."

"Assuming he's actually there and not holed up somewhere with a book--"

"He would not shirk his duty in a real emergency," she said, tone chiding him for the slight.

Yami knew he hadn't been fair, so he simply nodded. "All right. I know a losing battle when I see one. Be careful, Ishizu. Call once you've located our wayward priest."

Ishizu glanced over to where a pair of enclosed electric carts sat. "I will take one of the carts. That should make the trip a bit easier, as I'll not be as exposed in case there are more of the Soulless Ones between here and the airport."

"Be careful." Yami made it an order.

"Of course." She bowed slightly to Yami, stood on tiptoe to kiss Mahaad, and then hurried over to the nearest cart. They watched her drive off into the rain.

Yami hastened to call Seto. He needed to be on the alert to this new threat.

"Yami, I told you--" Seto didn't sound any happier to hear from him than before.

"Someone has released Soulless Ones on the island."

"...Are you sure?" Yami's own horror was echoed in Seto's voice.

"Mahaad just killed one. From the state of it, there are bound to be more." Knowing what lurked in the storm made Yami jerk toward every hint of movement at ground level. "Their master must be nearby."

He could only hope none of the Soulless Ones had attacked the evacuees. He doubted any had made it off the island; the creatures were incapable of surviving too far from their master. It wasn't the first time he'd had cause to be thankful for that weakness in the monsters.

"Seto? Have you spoken to Karim? None of us have been able to contact him and we're going to need everyone to deal with this--"

"There's been a breach of security at the Center," Seto interrupted him. "And by that I mean there's a damn palm tree sticking out of the front wall of the atrium. Get over here, now!"

Shit

. "We're on our way."

Yami heard the electric cart before he saw it racing toward him. It was one of the smaller ones, but enclosed to offer some protection from the storm, and Mahaad was at the wheel. It slewed to a halt next to him. There was no door, so he threw himself into the passenger seat and motioned for Mahaad to drive.

"We need to get to the Kaiba Center. Seto said the building's integrity has been breached."

"The sorcerer or the storm?"

"I don't know. Either way, we need to be there as quickly as possible."

Mahaad nodded and accelerated into the storm.

　

o0o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there's a reason for the names I'm using. It will be explained in an upcoming chapter.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow this chapter didn't get published on AO3, though it is on FF.net. I have no idea how that happened! Thanks to the guest who commented to let me know about the problem.

　

 

There was really only one paved road on the island. It circled from the small airport to the various venues like the sports complex, the convention center, and the hotel-casino before ending up back at the airport. The airport shuttles, security and fire vehicles, and small scooter-like taxis were the only powered vehicles allowed on the island, and they were all electric. Most people got around on bicycles or on foot. While this was normally one of the things Yami enjoyed about his island home, today he would have preferred something with a bit more bulk than the electric cart -- something like a _tank_. The road was littered with storm debris and slick from the accumulated rain. When they reached a section of road blocked by several downed trees, it was faster to abandon the cart and proceed on foot than it would've been to clear the obstruction.

As they ran, Yami spotted more of the slow-moving shapes through breaks in the foliage at the sides of the road, confirming his fear that the single Soulless One they had encountered at the hotel had not been the only one on the island. In fact, he thought he was seeing more of them as they got closer to the convention center. Even his sharp eye-sight had trouble piercing the nearly solid wall of rain, but the cloying press of the things' warped magic against his senses was unmistakable -- and getting worse.

He was reminded unwillingly of the first time, so long ago, that he had first encountered that feeling.

The cloying stench of death, of rotting flesh and blood, of decay… and of _heka bin_ , evil magic. The wrongness of the thing had clawed at his senses, both physical and otherwise. It was an abomination, an offense against Ma'at.  And now more of the creatures were walking the earth, creating more like themselves with every heart they tainted.

A scream startled Yami out of his dark reverie.

He froze, fighting to see through the nearly solid veil of the rain that had turned everything around him into a gray blur. The noise of wind and rain meant he couldn't listen for a human heartbeat; he could barely hear the sound of Mahaad's voice when he leaned closer to make himself heard through the storm.

"What is it?" Mahaad asked.

"You didn't hear that?" Yami shook his head; he knew his senses were stronger than his friend's. "Never mind. I heard a scream."

"Which way?"

Knowing that they were probably already too late to help, Yami still chose a direction, hoping it was the one from which the scream had originated, and ran. Ever loyal, Mahaad followed.

o0o

　

They found the woman clinging to the top of a fountain. Somehow, she had managed to get just high enough that the Soulless surrounding her couldn't quite get their reaching hands on her. That hadn't stopped them from trying; the three surrounding the fountain were straining toward her, grasping hands clawing at the stone of the uppermost tier that made up her precarious perch. She screamed again as one of them almost managed to snag her dangling foot. Her shoe came off and plopped into the water as she yanked her leg away from the reaching claws. As if galvanized by the near-miss, she made a surprisingly vicious effort at clubbing the one responsible for the loss of her shoe with the length of metal pipe clutched in the hand not wrapped white-knuckle tight around head of the mermaid sculpture seated atop the fountain. Unfortunately for her, her attack had little effect on the Soulless other than to spur it into a greater frenzy.

Without needing to say a word, Yami and Mahaad split up. While Mahaad circled around to the right, Yami leaped at the nearest Soulless One. Since it was distracted by the woman, it didn't notice him until he'd grabbed its head and snapped its neck. It collapsed at his feet; he stepped over it and dodged the second's attack. This time, he kicked the back of the thing's knee so that it stumbled, the leg snapping beneath it. He smashed its head into the stone of the fountain's basin, splattering gore and brain matter in a wide arc. By that time, the first one was struggling back to its feet, its head hanging at a weird angle from its broken neck. That didn't stop it from snapping its bloody fangs at him. Dropping the corpse whose skull he'd smashed, Yami rose in time to meet the first one's lunge with his fist, punching through its ribcage and closing his had around its cold, unbeating heart. He yanked the dead organ out and crushed it in his hand. He didn't bother watching the thing collapse, for good this time, just turned and slammed his hand into the second corpse's chest to do the same to its heart before it could rise and go after him again.

Finished, he plunged his hand into the fountain to clean the disgusting gunk off and looked around to see that Mahaad had also finished off his own monster and was now attempting to coax the woman down from the top of the fountain. The water in the lower basin, already muddied with debris from the storm, now churned red and black under the pounding rain.

"Hurry!" Yami shouted over the howl of the storm. "We have to get to Seto and the others!"

Mahaad gave him a look from beneath sodden brown hair, but graciously refrained from pointing out that it had been Yami's idea to divert from their goal in order to attempt a rescue in the first place. Shoving his own hair back from his face, Yami picked his way over the now-motionless corpses to Mahaad's side and peered up at the woman. She met his gaze with wide, terrified eyes.

"It's all right," Yami called up to her, trying to sound as if he weren't blatantly lying. "These creatures can't hurt you now. But you need to come down from there so that my friend can get you to shelter."

Now Mahaad shot him a glower. "I'm not leaving you on your own!"

"I'll be fine," Yami said, and ignored the way his reassurance only intensified Mahaad's glare.

To his relief, the woman had begun to climb down on her own. He and Mahaad both reached up to help steady her when her remaining high heeled shoe slipped on the wet marble. Once they had her on solid ground, she made a futile attempt at straightening her clothing and her tangled mass of blonde hair. Despite the fact that she was soaked to the skin and still shaking from her ordeal, she stood tall as she faced them.

"Thanks for your help." Her voice was throaty and a bit raw, probably from yelling. Her throat worked as she swallowed hard, staring down at the things that had tried to kill her. "I can't believe... Where did those monsters come from?"

"No time to explain." Yami turned and fished her lost shoe out of the water. He shook off the worst of the muck before handing it to her. "Mahaad will help you get to--"

"I said I'm not leaving you, Yami, and I damn well meant it!" Mahaad interrupted. "We'll all go together."

"No, I'll run ahead and--" Yami argued, even as he stripped off his suit jacket and offered it to the woman. She pulled it on over her lavender sundress, now spattered with gore.

"I swear if you try it, I will break both of your legs, even if it means I have to carry you to safety." Mahaad's expression left no doubt in Yami's mind that the threat was a real one. "We are _not_ getting separated!"

"He's right, y'know." The woman smirked. "Rule one in horror movie situations: never split up."

Barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Yami skewered her with a look. "This isn't a movie."

"Maybe not, but you have to admit it is pretty horrifying." She glanced at the fallen Soulless. "Never thought I'd see real live zombies."

"They are quite real, but they are not alive..." Mahaad sounded faintly puzzled by the turn of phrase.

"Figure of speech, hun." She shuddered and pulled Yami's jacket more closely around her shoulders. "I'm Mai, by the way. Mai Valentine."

"I am Mahaad Ishtar." Mahaad inclined his head in a polite bow. "And this is Yami King."

While they had been exchanging introductions, Yami had been scanning for signs of movement. What he saw wasn't encouraging. "I hate to break this up, but we need to get moving before more of the _zombies_ \--" He stumbled a bit over the modern term. "-- find us. Especially as I don't believe we will all fit atop Ms. Valentine's fountain."

"Good point." Mai immediately looped an arm around one of his, then reached out and snagged one of Mahaad's as well. She set off marching through the rain, a startled man on each side of her. "Where are we headed, boys?"

"The convention center."

Mai's confident stride faltered. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Won't there be a lot of people there?"

Yami figured he'd followed her thought processes -- more people equals more potential zombies -- and couldn't fault her logic. However, "The center also has more in the way of emergency facilities than elsewhere on the island." And at least one of his absent priests, though he wasn't going to tell her that. He might be forced to reveal the truth of their identities later, but now was hardly the time for lengthy explanations.

"What about the storm?" Mahaad asked, voicing a worry that Yami had been trying to avoid thinking about.

"We'll just have to hope for the best." Perhaps they could find some way to utilize their magic to shield whatever shelter they found. "With these abominations on the loose, we cannot continue the evacuations."

They were all silent, imagining the chaos that would be unleashed if even one of the creatures made it off the island.

"Are..." Mai stopped and swallowed audibly before continuing. "How sure are you that none of them were on the earlier flights?"

Yami met her wide-eyed gaze and saw his own fears reflected there. Grimly, he said, "Not sure enough."

　

o0o

When they reached the convention center, the courtyard -- visible from the road -- was swarming with the Soulless. The creatures were shambling aimlessly back and forth, their fickle attention drawn constantly from one thing to another as the storm winds blew debris across the island.

Yami and his two companions quickly ducked down behind a large hibiscus shrub. The wind-driven rain felt like pellets striking his skin, but Yami ignored it as best as he could, his mind on the gauntlet they'd have to run to get to the atrium entrance.

"I don't think I can get through that," Mai whispered. Human ears might not have heard her over the noise of the storm, but Yami caught the words easily and agreed with her assessment.

"Mahaad--" he began.

"Don't say it."

"You know it makes sense."

Mai glanced between them. "What are you talking about?"

"Splitting up," Yami said, doing his best not to acknowledge the glare Mahaad was aiming his way. "My friend doesn't like the idea."

"It's not splitting up, _per se_ ," Mahaad informed him, barely suppressed anger in his voice. "It's that I know you are going to insist on being the one to go alone through _that_." He gestured to the crowd of Soulless milling about the courtyard.

Yami frowned at him. "I'm faster than you, and you know it. It only makes sense for you to go with Ms. Valentine."

"Go with Ms. Valentine, _where_?" Mai asked. "Look, just tell me where to go and I'll be fine on my own. Then the two of you don't have to split up."

Mahaad looked as if he might second this plan, until Yami quashed it. He pointed to the balconies far over head, where the more expensive hotel suites started on the upper floors of the center. "I don't doubt your resourcefulness, Ms. Valentine, but I don't think you can get up _there_ by yourself."

"How do you expect me to get up there, even with help?" she asked, staring in consternation up at the slick sides of the building towering over them. "I'm not Wonder Woman!"

Glaring at Yami, Mahaad said, "I don't see why _you_ cannot help her--"

"Because I'm faster than you," Yami repeated, and suited action to words. He was up and running before Mahaad could make a grab for him. If either of his companions called after him, their voices were lost to the wind.

　

o0o

　

　

　

　

　

　

　


	6. Chapter 6

_Now_...

 

Finding himself face to face with a startlingly handsome face dominated by intense dark eyes, it took longer than it probably should have for Yugi to realize that the man's clothing was covered in blood.

"Yami," Seto said, dropping from his perch with the same sort of easy grace the stranger possessed. His shoes barely made a sound as they hit the tiles. "Please tell me things aren't as bad as I think they are."

The newcomer -- Yami, apparently -- glanced back over his shoulder. Following the direction of his gaze, Yugi saw that the people who had previously been milling about in the storm, were now moving slowly but inexorably toward the gap in the atrium wall.

"They're about to get worse," Yami said, then seemed to notice Yugi and Joey for the first time. He inhaled sharply through his nose, then grimaced. "Much worse."

Seto groaned. "Okay, forget barricading the gap, we've got to get these two out of here."

"Yes." Yami glanced over his shoulder. The gray shapes were lurching closer, pushing through the wind and rain. "And quickly."

"What about the people--?" Before Yugi could get anything more out, Yami had grabbed his arm and was dashing away from the partially blocked gap with Yugi firmly in tow. When Yugi twisted enough to check on Joey, he saw that Kaiba had a hand wrapped around Joey's wrist and was pulling him along.

At the front of the atrium, the first bedraggled figure slithered through gaps in the roots of the palm tree and flopped gracelessly to the floor. For the first time, Yugi got a good look at one of the people he'd seen out in the storm. His first thought was that it must be one of the actors who were a part of the card promotion, with the zombie get-up intact in spite of the rain. This one was missing most of its scalp, a flap of skin hanging down over one eye and obscuring what seemed to be glimpses of bare bone beneath strands of gray flesh. Dark stains covered the front of its ragged clothing, and, as it sruggled upright, what looked like intestines spilled from its abdomen. Some of them tangled on the palm roots, spooling out as the zombie tried to crawl toward them.

" _Eugh_." Joey and Seto had caught up with them. Without Yugi realizing it, they had all stopped and were staring at the grotesque sight. The intestines were acting like a leash, preventing the creature from making much head-way. Joey looked like he might lose his expensive lunch. "That Pegasus guy has lost his mind if he thinks _that_ is gonna sell expansion packs."

"Not even Maximillion Pegasus is _that_ crazy," Seto said, his voice grim. He shoved them toward the bank of elevators near the info-desk. "Move! Or would you rather get eaten?"

"Whadda ya mean _eaten_?" Joey demanded, his voice pitching up on the last word. His eyes bugged out. "Wait. Are you tryin' to tell me that thing's _for real_?"

Yugi really hoped that wasn't what Seto was saying, because there were more of them struggling through the spaces around the palm tree and lurching across the atrium. "Uh, guys--"

"'Cause that's crazy talk!" Joey continued, his voice headed for 'only bats can hear you' territory. "I know you think I'm stupid, but I ain't fallin' for--"

" _Joey_ \--" Yugi yelped, spotting how close the nearest zombie had gotten. "Less arguing, more running!"

Yugi felt Yami shove him at Kaiba, who in turn shoved him at Joey and stepped between them and the monster. Peering around him, Yugi could see that the zombie wasn't Intestines-R-Us, but another one that had come at them from one of the side corridors, which meant it had _already_ been inside the building before the tree happened. And wasn't _that_ a happy thought?

The new zombie reached clawed hands toward Yami and snapped its jaws, tendons standing out in its thin neck as it strained toward him. Long blonde hair liberally streaked with blood obscured most of its face, but Yugi thought he could make out the remnants of careful eyeliner and lipstick beneath the gore. When it lunged at Yami, Yugi thought he saw sharper than normal canines behind its snarling red lips.

Heart in his throat, Yugi watched as Yami drew back his arm and then slammed his fist into the advancing zombie's chest. Literally _into_ its chest. When he pulled his hand back, he was clutching a dark mass of flesh about the size of a man's fist. He squeezed and something black and viscous oozed through his fingers. He made a disgusted face and flung the rest of the rotten tissue to the floor. The zombie collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

"Holy _shit_ ," whispered Joey, sounding equal parts grossed out and awed.

Yugi's stomach lurched and he gulped, forcing back a sudden rush of hot bile. What the hell was going on?

"What are you waiting for, _applause_?" Seto sneered, stomping over to slam his boot down on the thing's skull, crushing it. Bits of bone and gray matter spattered on the marble tiles. He grabbed Yami by the arm and slung him toward the gaping duo by the elevators. "Get going, before we're the dish of the day at an all-you-can-eat buffet!"

Filing away his (many, _many_ ) questions for later, Yugi let Joey hustle him into the first elevator that responded to his desperate jabs at the buttons. The other two piled in and the doors glided shut just as the next zombie reached them. Seto kicked it in the chest, sending it flying back into a pair of its brethren and toppling all three to the floor in a writhing pile of limbs. Then the elevator was rising and Yugi slumped against the rear wall of the car, shaking all over and trying to ignore the blood dripping from Yami's hand.

"What the everlovin' fuck?!" Joey shrieked, throwing both arms up and making inarticulate noises for a moment when words failed him. "I mean-- What the _fuck_?!"

Leaning against the wall near the controls, Seto folded his arms and simply raised one eyebrow at the display. "What part of 'zombies' do you not understand?"

Joey gaped at him. "How about _all of it_? Starting with _zombies_ and ending with, oh I dunno, _ZOMBIES_."

"Are you sure they're zombies?" Yugi asked quietly, and then found himself suddenly the object of everyone's attention. He fought the urge to shrink back from the stares and lifted his chin. "It's just... I've never seen zombies with _fangs_ before."

"Seen many real zombies, have you?" Seto managed to stuff an entire world of derision into a single raised eyebrow.

"Watch it, wiseguy!" Joey shook his finger in Seto's face. "You're such a frickin' zombie expert, how many have _you_ seen?"

"Too many." Seto suddenly looked weary.

" _One_ is too many," Yami said, sounding as tired as Seto looked. "But, yes. They are zombies. And, yes, they have fangs."

"Why?" Yugi tried to puzzle that one out. "I mean, why do they have fangs? I get that this isn't a movie, so things could be different, but... Why _fangs_?"

"The short version?" Yami shrugged. "They're failed vampires."

　


	7. Chapter 7

"...I think I'm gonna need the long version, dude, 'cause I don't know what to do with that." Joey paused, a thoughtful look on his face, then added, "Although, I get the feelin' that, as soon as my brain reboots, I’m gonna be screamin' a lot." He turned an imploring look on Yugi. "I'm dreamin', right? This whole day has been a super realistic nightmare, and any minute now I'll wake up and regret that weird burger bar thing. _Right_?"

"Sorry, Joey." Yugi grimaced, wishing he could say otherwise. The day had been a nightmare, all right. Too bad it was a waking one.

Joey slumped. In a small voice, he asked, "Has the world gone mad? Or have I?"

Seto snorted. "Short answer: Yes."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Joey straightened immediately, offense in every inch of his posture as he jabbed his finger at Seto. "We're not drivin' off that bridge again. You got somethin' to say? _You say it_. None of this cryptic bullshit. I watch movies, okay? Cryptic bullshit gets regular schmoes like me dead."

Seto and Yami exchanged glances, some silent communication that Yugi had no cypher for. Whatever it was, it only made Joey's temper flare even hotter.

"Hey, I said no keepin' secrets! Especially when our lives could depend on knowing this shit." Never one to keep a tight rein on his temper, Joey got right up in Yami's face. "If you know somethin', you'd damn well better share with the class. Or do I gotta teach ya some manners?"

"Watch how you speak to him, cur," Seto snapped, shoving his way between Joey and Yami, and physically forcing Joey to back down.

Yugi was watching Yami closely, and he saw the moment the other man decided to tell them the truth. Yami shook his head at Seto with something like fond resignation in his expression.

"Seto -- peace." Yami waved a quelling hand at Seto. "The young man is right. They deserve to know."

"If you insist." Seto stepped back, posture stiff and disapproving. He clearly didn't agree, but it was just as clear that he would abide by Yami's decision.

"So, what is it?" Yugi prompted, leaning toward Yami. He fixed his gaze on the other man's face, determined not to miss anything. "What do you know about all this?"

"Too much and yet not enough," Yami said, sounding exhausted. He glanced at the elevator panel. "And I realize that sounds like more 'cryptic bullshit,' but it really is a long story. I'll give you the highlights once we get somewhere a bit safer than this elevator."

"Oh. Yeah, that'd probably be good." Joey scratched his head. "Where exactly are we headin', anyway?"

Joey looked at Seto, who looked at Yami, who shrugged again. "To the penthouse. It's the most secure level of the hotel. Mahaad will meet us there, and when I spoke to Mokuba earlier, I told him to take shelter there if something happened."

Seto's stiff posture relaxed a bit on hearing this. "Good."

"Mokuba-- That's your older brother, right?" Yugi was confused by the smirk he got in response to his question.

Seto just smirked and said, "That's what we tell everyone."

"Are you physically incapable of giving someone a straight answer?" Joey snapped, clearly fed up with the evasions.

Again, it was Yami who stepped in to clarify things and defuse the tension. "Mokuba is adopted."

"Uh... I think you mean _Seto's_ adopted," Joey said, uncertainly, his eyes darting between Yami and Seto. "Don'tcha?"

"No."

If that was their idea of 'no cryptic bullshit' Yugi despaired of getting the real story anytime soon. Before any of them could continue the conversation, the elevator _dinged_ and the doors began to glide open. The ride had been so smooth that, until that moment, Yugi hadn't even realized that they'd stopped.

Joey was staring at the lit numbers on the control panel. "Uh, this don't look like the penthouse to me..."

"Shit!" Reacting faster than Yugi would've thought humanly possible, Seto shoved Yami away from the doors, accidentally forcing him to collide with Yugi and sending both of them tumbling into the corner of the car.

The opening doors revealed a corridor crammed with gray-faced, bloody corpses, all of which had turned to face the elevator, probably drawn by the _ping_ of the car's arrival or the movement of the doors. There was a fresh body on the floor, probably the remains of the poor guy who had called the elevator in the first place. Too bad it hadn't gotten there in time to save him.

"Oh, _hell_ no." Joey had gone as gray-faced as the zombies at the sight before them.

Ignoring him, Seto kicked the nearest creature back through the doors and into a pair of its compatriots. The doors were closing again, though far too slowly for Yugi's peace of mind. Joey was jabbing at the 'door close' button as if that would make a difference in the speed with which the doors were coming together.

A zombie snarled as it lunged forward, barely clearing the gap between the closing doors. Seto shoved it to the floor, smashing its skull in, before ripping out its heart. He kicked the mass of rotting flesh clear of the doors and glanced up as the doors finally shut and the elevator resumed its upward progress. Black blood oozed from his fingertips. "Everyone all right?"

" _Eurk_ ," Joey said eloquently, stumbled away from the battered corpse, and promptly attempted to hurl up a kidney on the carpet.

"Uh..." Yugi said, looking at Joey, who was too busy throwing up to respond further. "I think we're going to need a minute."

"Take your time," Yami said kindly, shifting to allow Yugi to go to his friend's aid.

Behind him, Yugi could hear Yami chastizing Seto for not using the card key which would allow the elevator to travel directly to the penthouse with no stops. Seto muttered something about having his mind on other things, but Yugi was distracted by Joey's wretching and didn't hear the rest of their murmured conversation.

"Joey, come on," Yugi coaxed, patting his friend on the back where he was bent over, seemingly emptying his stomach of everything he'd eaten in the last year. Yugi swallowed hard and tried to block out the sound and smell. He was a sympathetic vomiter and it wouldn't do them any good if both he and Joey were hurling. "Try to pull yourself together, Joey. We're almost there..."

The elevator dinged again. Looking around, Yugi saw that the panel indicated they'd arrived at the promised penthouse.

Seto stuck his head out the doors and checked for hostiles, then stepped clear of the elevator and motioned for them to join him. Yami helped Yugi get Joey upright and moving, though Joey's arms were still wrapped around his stomach and he was moaning under his breath.

Seto spared them an unsympathetic look. "Is he dying?"

Yugi narrowed his eyes. "He's been holding it together really well until now, so give him a break."

"Remember that when a... _zombie_ is ripping your throat out."

Adding 'why do you both stumble over the word _zombie_ ' to his growing list of questions, Yugi resumed patting Joey's back in an attempt to calm his friend down. It seemed to be working, as Joey straightened and took a deep breath.

He wiped his mouth on the hem of his shirt and, carefully avoiding looking at the body at their feet, said, "How sure are ya that this place isn't overrun already?"

"This elevator opens directly into the penthouse and this level is only accessible with a key card. Since it's not open to the public, we shouldn't have to worry about stray... zombies."

Again, Yugi could practically hear the air-quotes around the word 'zombie.' What was going on with these two?

" _Shouldn't_?" Joey objected. "That doesn't sound all that sure to me!"

"Mahaad should be here by now. I'm sure it's perfectly safe."

"Look, I dunno who this Mahaad guy is, but--"

Yugi intervened before Joey got into another glare-down with Seto. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Joey."

He looked to Yami, who nodded and joined Seto in the room beyond the elevator doors. When there was no sound or other sign of struggle, Yugi tugged at Joey's arm until his friend followed him out of the elevator. The room they found themselves in was an elegantly appointed foyer, decorated in a kind of understated luxury.

Once they were all clear of the elevator, Seto stepped back and did something to the panel beside the door. Noticing Yugi watching him, he explained, "Locking it down. The car can still come up, as long as the passkey is used, but the doors won't open unless one of us unlocks it."

"Good idea," Yami said. "We wouldn't want any surprise visitors. And this way we won't have to keep a guard on the elevator."

That did sound like a good idea, though thinking about made Yugi ask, "What about the emergency stairs?"

Seto got that 'oh, shit' expression again and spun on his heel, disappearing around a corner Yugi hadn't even noticed before. Yami offered him a small smile. "Good thinking, Yugi. But don't worry, there's an override lock on that door as well."

"Isn't that against building codes?" Joey wondered, and Yugi recalled that his friend had worked construction a few times in between tournaments.

Yami shrugged. "This is a privately owned island. And the public floors are all code compliant."

"Are you sure it's safe here?"

"For now." His head tilted, as if he were listening to something Yugi couldn't hear. "Come. The others are in the living room. Seto will join us once he's checked on the stairwell door."

"How can you tell from here?" Yugi asked, tightening his grip on Joey's arm when his friend stiffened in alarm.

"I can hear them." A hint of amusement played on the corners of his mouth. "And there's no stench of the Soulless Ones beyond what we brought with us in the elevator, so I feel secure in saying the penthouse remains free of infestation."

"You can...?" The words stuck in Yugi's throat. "How can you hear -- or _smell_ \-- something like that? That's not possible!"

"Not for a human," Yami agreed calmly, and turned to walk through the doorway opposite the elevator.

Yugi and Joey gaped after him. Joey's fingers closed around Yugi's arm like a living vice and he leaned in to hiss in Yugi's ear, "What he fuck did he mean ' _not for a human_ '?!"

"I... I don't know." Yugi shook his head. Nothing was making sense anymore.

"Remember when I said this trip was too good to be true?" Joey tipped his head back and sighed at the ceiling. "Guess I was right about that one. But I figured we'd just get stuck with some kind of ridiculous charges on the hotel bill, not fuckin' flesh eating corpses and what the hell ever our new buddies turn out to be."

Gathering every ounce of courage and determination he owned, Yugi squared his shoulders. "Let's go find out what that is," he said, and marched through the doorway after Yami.

 


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a lupus flare-up (I have SLE) and so my editing isn't up to my usual standards as the brain-fog makes concentrating extremely difficult.
> 
>  
> 
> ETA: Somehow, chapter 4 didn't get posted here before (the fic went from chapter 3 to chapter 5). It's there now, if you missed it.

The penthouse's living room turned out to be just as luxurious as the foyer, though Yugi didn't pay much attention to the interior decorating beyond noticing that one wall was composed almost entirely of glass, with a pair of French doors that opened onto what looked like a balcony beyond. Through the glass, he could see the storm-gray sky. The driving rain hammered like angry fists against the glass, rattling the panes.

When he pulled his gaze from the storm, Yugi saw that there were two new people in the room: a beautiful blonde woman and a tall brunet man. Both looked somewhat bedraggled: the woman had a towel draped over her shoulders as if she'd been caught in the act of drying her hair (which lay in damp tangles about her shoulders), and the man's business suit was rumpled and smeared with dark streaks of drying blood.

Before Yugi could say anything, the brunet spotted them and his gaze sharpened. "How did you get in here?" he demanded. "You are not authorized to be in here."

"Who the hell are you?" Joey snapped back.

The brunet's expression hardened even further. "Someone who _is_ authorized to be here, which is how I know _you_ are not. So, who are you?"

"They're with me, Mahaad," Yami said, striding in and effectively putting an end to the burgeoning confrontation. He gave the brunet a tight smile. "Glad to see you made it here safely. You as well, Ms. Valentine."

"If I weren't so glad to see you," the brunet -- Mahaad apparently -- said, in a strained, if pleasant, tenor, "I would be _very unhappy_ with you right now."

Yami said something dismissive, but Yugi was focused on the blonde woman, who was undoubtedly a fellow duelist. Yugi thought he recognized her from past tournaments, though he couldn't recall if they'd ever actually faced off against one another. She was giving Mahaad an umimpressed look as he continued to try to scold Yami for making them get to safety while Yami had run off to find Seto.

"Give it a rest, Mahaad," Seto himself said, cutting the brunet off in mid-chide. "Obviously his plan worked, so you have nothing to complain about."

"I'm complaining about him _needlessly risking his life_ \--"

"What else is new?" Seto scoffed. "The fire-door's secure, by the way. _Now_. Did you even think to check it? Have you done _anything_ useful since you got here? Or have you spent the entire time fretting over Yami like an old hen with one chick?"

Clearly preparing to retaliate, Mahaad drew in a deep breath. Yami cut him off before he could exhale a single syllable. "Have you heard from any of the others?"

Deflating, Mahaad shook his head. "Karim still isn't answering. Ishizu is no doubt still on her way to the airport and can't spare the time to call. Neither of you have spoken to Mokuba?"

"I told him to go to the penthouse," Yami said. "Since he's not here, I presume that something must have happened to sidetrack him."

"I ordered everyone to the auditorium, including staff, in anticipation of evacuating the center." Seto shoved one hand through his hair. "That... was probably a mistake."

"Hindsight... You couldn't know," Yami said, reaching out and laying his hand on Seto's shoulder. "You did the best you could with the information you had at the time."

Yugi considered what could happen with one or more of those things trapped inside the crowded auditorium with people who were already panicking about the storm. Just the idea sent shivers down his spine. Were some of the zombies they'd seen on the way up here victims of just such a scenario?

"Mokuba is probably in the auditorium with everyone else." Seto spun around and stalked toward the door. "I'm going to get him."

"No." Yami's hand snapped out and snagged Seto's arm, stopping him in his tracks and clearly holding him in place with minimal effort. Yugi was impressed; for such a lean guy, Yami must be a _lot_ stronger than he looked.

"Damn it, Yami--" Seto wrenched his arm free.

Yami silenced him with an upheld hand. "No, _you_ are not going to get him. _We_ are going to get him."

Seto's only response was to sneer, but he stopped looking as if he was about to vibrate out of his skin.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Yugi asked. The three turned to look at him; Seto, as if noticing Yugi for the first time as anything other than a vague inconvenience, had a modicum of respect in his eyes.

"No," Seto said. Grudgingly, he added, "But thanks for offering."

Yami agreed. "The best thing you can do is stay here where it's relatively safe until we get back."

While he didn't like the idea of hiding while the others were in danger, Yugi recognized the logic of Yami's request. He nodded. "We can do that."

"Good," Seto snapped. "Can we go now?"

"I think Yami should remain here as well," Mahaad said, with the air of a man preparing to defend his unpopular opinion. "I will accompany Seto."

"I don't care who comes with me, as long as it's not someone who's going to slow me down." Seto shot a glance at Yugi, Joey, and Mai, making it clear who he meant.

"Mokuba isn't here, which means he's probably in the auditorium. Which means he's _in danger_ , and I would like to make that not the case as quickly as possible."

"He isn't answering his walkie?" Mahaad asked.

Seto gave him the 'why are you such a moron' look, which was confirmation enough. "No one is answering their damn walkies. Roland should be with him, but--"

An electronic tone interrupted him. Seto dug into his pocket and came up with the not-phone from before (which Yugi realized must be one of the 'walkies' the others kept mentioning). "Mokuba?!"

The voice on the other end of the connection was faint and broken up by static. Yugi only caught a few words.

"...port... less on... plane ...tell... maj... must stop..."

"Ishizu?" Mahaad leaned closer to the walkie. "What's wrong with the walkie?"

"The storm's interfering with the signal," Seto growled, giving the device an irate shake. "Ishizu! Say again!"

"...stop... plane!"

"What are you talking about?" Seto snapped at the walkie.

Finally, the static cleared enough for a complete sentence to make it through. "Soulless on the plane!" And then the device squawked and apparently died, the resisted all of Seto's efforts to resurrect it.

"Did she say there were zombies on one of the evac planes?" Joey asked, eyes wide.

They all stared at each other in varying degrees of horror.

"We have to stop that plane," Mahaad said. "It can't be allowed to reach any of the other islands, much less the mainland."

"But how?" Yugi asked. His gaze drifted back to the window-wall. The storm seemed to be gathering strength. He was amazed the plane had gotten off the runway. Could they convince the pilot to turn around? It didn't seem likely or, with communications down, even possible. And surely the plane would be long gone before any of them could reach the airport.

"We'll try to get it to return to the airport," Yami said. "If that fails..." His already somber expression turned grim as he looked to Seto and Mahaad. "I'll need your power to add to my own."

Both men nodded. Yugi shared a confused glance with Joey. What was Yami talking about? What was he planning to do? And what did he mean by 'power'?

All three men closed their eyes. At first, Yugi couldn't see anything happening, but then he noticed a faint golden glow coming from beneath Yami's shirt. After a moment, he realized he could see a similar glow from Mahaad and Seto. What was going on?

Joey clutched at his arm. "Are you seein' this, Yug'?"

"I see it," Yugi said softly. "But I don't know what 'it' is..."

In silence, they watched as the glow became stronger, brighter -- blinding. Squeezing his eyes shut, Yugi felt Joey's fingers digging into his arm and heard Mai's gasp. And then...

Nothing. Even the sound of the storm seemed to diminish. It was as if someone had hit the mute button on the world. Cautiously, Yugi opened his eyes. The blinding glow was gone, the three men still stood as before -- like statues with their eyes closed, expressions of intense concentration on their faces. Mai and Joey inched closer to Yugi, all of their attention focused on the trio before them.

Mai was the first to find her voice. "What just happened?"

"I--"

From somewhere in the distance, in what Yugi thought was the general direction of the airport, there came a brilliant flash of light. A few seconds later, they all heard the rumbling roar of an explosion.

"Holy shit!" Joey raced over the windows and peered out. "What the hell was that?!"

Yugi had followed Joey and now craned his neck to see through the rain-streaked glass. An orange light glimmered through the distant trees, twisting edges catching at shadows and outlining them with violet and indigo. The sky was already the color of smoke, so it was difficult to tell, but...

"I think something's on fire," Yugi said, pointing toward the orange glow. The fractured light danced in the spaces between the trees, as if the wind were fueling it.

"How can something be on fire when this storm is dumping half the Pacific Ocean on us?" Joey complained.

Seto cursed. "Must have gotten the fuel stores at the airport. Av-gas..."

The power flickered.

"...And the power lines have been compromised."

"Oh, great. Any more good news?"

As if in response, the lights in the penthouse flickered again -- once, twice -- then went off and stayed off. After a moment, dim emergency lighting slowly came on around the room. Joey took one look at the dead overheads and groaned. "For the record, universe, that is the _opposite_ of good news."

"No shit," snapped Seto. Only then did Yugi realize that the three men had come out of their trance-like states. When he glanced back at them, Seto was rubbing his forehead as if he'd gotten a headache during whatever the three of them had been doing.

The other two didn't look much better, though Mahaad seemed to be ignoring his own discomfort in order to fuss over Yami, who looked like five miles of bad road. Mahaad tried to herd Yami toward one of the sofas. "You should sit down--"

"I didn't want that to happen," Yami murmured, seeming not to hear the other man. "All those souls..."

"You had no choice," Seto said sternly. He pinned Yami with a sharp gaze. "That took a lot more effort than usual. What happened?"

"The Shadows--" Yami stopped mid-sentence, his eyes glazing over. The color drained from his face, leaving it chalk white, and he swayed in place before his eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped like a stone.

Alarm shot through Yugi, echoed in Mahaad's cry of "Yami!" and the way both he and Seto seemed to instinctively reach out to catch the smaller man before he hit the floor.

　

o0o

　

"The Shadows--" Yami suddenly stiffened, his vision growing dark around the edges as a tug on his magic forcibly redirected his awareness. The Shadows were fighting him still. Their power strengthened by the fresh sacrifice of so many souls, they were more vicious than ever as they struggled against the bonds he had placed on them. He felt his body sway, but all his attention was by necessity focused on preventing the Shadows from escaping his control. He was only distantly aware of hands catching him as he collapsed.

Many long minutes later, he emerged from his latest battle with a pounding headache and a raging thirst -- and five pairs of eyes staring at him with varying degrees of concern and curiosity.

"What just happened?" Yugi asked. "It seemed as if you were... in pain or something? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, you were really out of it for a minute there," Joey added, sounding more suspicious than concerned.

Yami acknowledged their worry with a glance, but turned to Seto and Mahaad before giving them an answer. He knew they would see the need burning in his eyes. "There were Soulless on a private jet that was attempting to take off despite Ishizu's demands for it to stop."

Yami shook his head slowly, both regret and disgust entering his voice when he continued. "There's no way of knowing if there were uninfected onboard also. I tried to force the plane to land, but there was something blocking me... I couldn't influence the pilot." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I had no choice but to destroy the plane."

"It had to be done." Mahaad murmured, his tone sympathetic. "You know that the Soulless have to be confined to this island if at all possible."

"I do know." Yami shook himself. "But even so, knowing doesn't make the deed any easier to stomach."

So many lives were being lost already and now he'd been forced to take even more. The knowledge sickened him. The ecstatic roiling of the Shadows in the recesses of their bond only made his own reaction worse.

Yami had watched through the eyes of his priestess as the small plane taxied on the runway, attempting to take off despite the crosswinds buffeting its wings and the demands of the tower control for it to return. Thanks to Ishizu, Yami knew there were Soulless on that plane. He could not have allowed it to leave the island, to carry the plague of death and destruction elsewhere. But what he'd been forced to do in order to stop it... His soul quaked at the knowledge of the weight he had added to his heart.

He shook off his dark thoughts. "Enough of this. We must go get Mokuba."

"You are not going anywhere!" Mahaad interrupted, looking righteously outraged by even the suggestion. "You strained your magic and need time to recover. Therefore, you will remain here with the humans, where it is at least somewhat safe. I will accompany Seto to retrieve Mokuba."

"Mahaad--" Yami began, his tone holding a warning.

Mahaad flung out a hand to stop him. "I will not hear of it!" He cut his eyes at Seto, seeking back-up. "Tell him--"

For his part, Seto looked as if he were out of patience with both of them. "I don't have time for this. I'm going to get my little brother--" He ignored the exclamation from Joey (" _Little_?!") at this pronouncement. "--and I don't actually care which of you comes with me. You can both stay here, if it means I don't have to listen to any more useless arguments and can stop wasting time."

He would do it, too; go off on his own with the hotel overrun by the Soulless, and probably be overwhelmed by them before he even reached Mokuba. Yami couldn't let that happen, even if it meant staying behind when every bit of his honor demanded that he be the one leading the charge. But Seto was right; they didn't have the time to waste while Yami argued with an overprotective Mahaad.

"I'll stay," Yami said, forcing the words out from between gritted teeth. He took a deep breath, trying to release some of his resentment at his own weakness with the exhale. "We'll... organize whatever supplies we can find, and I'll keep trying to contact any of the others while you're gone."

When Seto briefly met his gaze, there was gratitude mixed with the worry in his eyes and Yami knew he'd made the right decision. Seto leaned close and pitched his voice to only carry to vampire ears. "There are provisions in the kitchen. You should avail yourself of them before our guests begin to look too tempting."

"I will." Yami knew he would need to quench his thirst before too much longer. He needed to be at full-strength to keep the Shadows at bay. He met Seto's gaze firmly. "You have my word."

Seto nodded, then spun on his heel and strode toward the foyer. Over his shoulder, he called, "If you're coming, Mahaad, get a move on. We'll have to take the stairs."

Not giving Yami time to say anything else, Mahaad hurried after Seto. Yami sighed and trudged after them, calling back over his shoulder to the humans. "I'll go make certain the door is secured."

He wasn't terribly surprised when Yugi followed him out into the foyer, where they were just in time to see the emergency stairwell door close behind Mahaad. Watching Yami secure the door, Yugi said, "Do you think they'll be okay?"

"I hope so." Yami didn't like that they had gone without him -- he had always been the kind of man who preferred to lead from the front -- but he knew he couldn't let himself dwell on it right now. There were things he needed to do. "In the meantime, we'll do what we can here."

He led the way back into the living room, where the other two humans were waiting. Glancing between them, Yami said, "I've been a poor host, haven't I? Mai Valentine, this is Yugi Mutou and his friend, Joey Wheeler."

Yugi piped up with a cheerful, "I thought I recognized you, Ms. Valentine."

"Just 'Mai' is fine, hun." She gave him a lop-sided grin. " I don't believe in standing on formality in survival situations."

"Good point, Mai," Joey said, eyeing her up and down. "And in that spirit -- I know we just met and all, but you seriously need some new shoes."

Everyone glanced down at Mai's feet. Her shoes were the worse for wear from her ordeal at the fountain, so sodden and streaked with muck that their original lavender color was almost imperceptible. For the first time, Yami noticed that they were more straps than shoe and would offer no protection for her feet. They also had ridiculously high stiletto heels; he was surprised she could walk in them, much less run.

Mai started to draw in an indignant breath to object to Joey's words, but he cut her off.

"No, listen to me! There's no way you're gonna be able to run in those. Or climb, or jump, or whatever else you may have to do in order not to get yourself -- or one of us -- killed. You'd be better off barefoot."

She deflated. "I see your point. But--"

"Ishizu has some things in one of the guest rooms," Yami said. "You can probably find something more suitable to wear. In fact--" He indicated his own clothing, which was now suitable only for cleaning rags. "So should I. A suit isn't the best thing for running and fighting, and I have some spare clothes here, as well."

"Well..." The fact that Yami was also going to change seemed to quell Mai's resistance. "All right. If you're sure this Ishizu person won't mind?"

"She's Mahaad's wife," Yami said, smiling a bit. "And, no. She won't mind."

"Lead the way, then."

　

o0o

　

As Mai trailed Yami through the doorway opposite the balcony and disappeared further into the apartment. Yugi glanced at his friend. "You doing okay, Joey?"

" _Okay_? Dude, if you could read my thoughts right now, all you'd get is incoherent screaming and harsh language." Joey frowned at him. "Sit down, Yug'. You look about like Yami did a minute ago, like you're gonna keel over any second."

Until that moment, Yugi hadn't realized exactly how tired he was. But with Joey's words seemed to come an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion that turned the bones in his legs to jelly. Nodding, he stumbled over to the sofa and more or less collapsed onto it beside Joey. He leaned his head back on the thick sofa cushion and closed his eyes. He must have dozed because the next thing he knew, a hand was gripping his shoulder and shaking it.

Yugi yelped, half-convinced that a zombie had grabbed him. He flailed out with one hand, trying to shove the thing away from him -- and barely missed clocking Joey in the eye. Panting, Yugi stared at his friend, who gave him a sheepish grin and muttered, "...Oops?"

After a moment during which Yugi did nothing but try to convince his heart not to leap out of his chest, he glanced around to find Yami watching him with a faint smile on his face. For some reason, that got Yugi's back up.

"We're not in the elevator anymore," Yugi said. "Are you finally going to tell us what the full story is with you and Seto?" He thought for a moment. "And Mahaad, I guess?"

"You're good with puzzles, aren't you, Yugi?" Which seemed like a tacit admission that Yugi had guessed right. Something unreadable flickered in Yami's expression. The corners of his mouth quirked, and he nodded. "As soon as Mai rejoins us. There's no point in telling the tale more than once."

That made sense, so Yugi didn't argue. Rubbing tiredly at his eyes, Yugi sat up. Glancing around, he saw Yami had changed out of his ruined suit and was now a picture all in black from his boots and tight jeans to the sleeveless t-shirt that showed off toned arms adorned with golden armbands around his biceps and wrists. A gold chain disappeared beneath the t-shirt; Yugi could just make out the vague shape of a pendant of some kind beneath the dark cloth. Yami had also taken the time to clean up and was now free of gore. His hair had begun to dry, springing up into a shape reminescent of Yugi's own.

Joey was saying something, but honestly most of Yugi's brain cells were too busy taking in the picture Yami made dressed all in black like an anthropomorphic shadow to parse the noises coming from Joey's lips. A thousand questions were racing through Yugi’s mind -- Who are you? What are you? Are you even remotely human? (Do you have a significant other?) -- but he'd force himself to wait until he'd heard what Yami had to say before unleashing his full curiosity.

"...ain't that right, Yugi?" Joey concluded his rant with an appeal for back-up. Uncertain what he was agreeing to, Yugi just nodded and tried to look as if he hadn't been contemplating things best left for some time when they weren't all in danger of being eaten by zombies.

"You said it, Joey," Mai said, as she sauntered back into the living room. "No-one mentioned hordes of the undead in the contract _I_ signed, that's for sure."

She grimaced as she tried to finger-comb the tangles from her bedraggled blonde hair. She'd exchanged her sundress for a pair of snug-fitting capri pants and a casual blouse in a cheerful floral print. Canvas sneakers in the same pale green as the capris completed the outfit.

"Yeah. Rest assured that I will be writing a strongly worded tweet about this mess," Joey chimed in, then leaned forward to eye Yami speculatively. "I mean, you guys aren't responsible for the weather, but given the kind of spooky shit you've been pullin', I ain't so sure you're not to blame for the zombies."

Yami sighed. "Honestly? I'm not entirely sure myself."

Well, that wasn't reassuring in the least. And Yugi was about one cryptic statement from losing his cool. He'd been promised some answers and, damn it, he was going to get them this time. "Okay, so we're all here now," Yugi reminded Yami. "Can we finally get the big reveal out of the way?"

Mai frowned. "Big reveal? What are you talking about?" Then she got a similar look in her eyes. "Wait. Is this where you explain how your friend can leap tall buildings in a single bound?"

"What?!" Joey yelped.

"Well, close enough, anyway." Mai smirked at him. "Mahaad jumped from the ground up to the balcony out there -- _while carrying me_ \-- so I'd say it counts, even if no capes were involved."

"So, it's not just you and Seto," Yugi said, putting more of the pieces together. "Mokuba, too?"

"No," Yami said, propping one hip against the arm of the other sofa while Mai sat down next to Joey. "Mokuba is human."

"Again with the human thing..." grumbled Joey, dropping his head into his hands and groaning. "I'm not liking the sound of this."

Both of Mai's eyebrows were reaching for her hairline. "I was thinking some kind of _enhanced_ human, actually. But I guess not. So, what are you? Mutants? Aliens?"

Joey made another despairing noise. Yugi poked him in the ribs and waited impatiently for Yami's response. Yami just shook his head. " _Aliens_? Really?"

"When there're walking corpses trying to eat me, I fail to see what's so out there about aliens," was Mai's dry rebuttal.

"Point taken." Yami folded his arms over his chest, making his t-shirt mold to his muscles in intriguing ways. The gold on his arms glinted in the gray light from the windows. With some effort, Yugi forced his attention back to what the other man was saying. "But, no. Nothing as exciting as aliens or mutants. We're just vampires."

Not having expected Yami to answer so bluntly, Yugi did nothing but gape at him for a long moment. _Just vampires_? As far as Yugi's brain was concerned there was nothing 'just' about _vampires_! The very idea left him speechless. Fortunately, Joey had never been one to remain flabbergasted for long.

"Bullshit," Joey said, sitting up straight and glaring at Yami. "I call bullshit! It's broad daylight--" He flung out one hand to point at the window-wall. "--and you ain't exactly burstin' into flames over there. And even if bein' inside made a difference, we saw you run in from outside and you weren't on fire _then_ , neither."

"You're okay with zombies, mutants, and aliens, but you draw the line at vampires?" Yami snorted. "As for your objection -- Don't believe everything you see in movies."

"I gotta agree with Yami," Mai said. "Sorry, Joey, but the whole 'can't go out in daylight' thing was invented for the film _Nosferatu_. In Bram Stoker's novel, Count Dracula could walk in the sun with impunity. And in some earlier legends, vampires could only leave their graves at _high noon_."

Everyone stared at her.

"What? I used to date a folklorist. She had a fascination for vampires."

Yami gave her a respectful nod. "As you can see, folklore and fiction change over time. I'm sure there are many things that you 'know' about vampires -- and other supposedly mythical beings -- that differ greatly from the truth. Just as the 'zombies' are not exactly what popular culture has led you to expect."

"So..." Yugi leaned forward, always eager to learn. "What's the real story?"

"I'm afraid that will have to wait," Yami said, not sounding all that regretful to Yugi's ear. "For now, we've more important things to attend to."

"Like what?" Joey objected. "We're just waitin' on your buddies to retrieve Mokuba. Right?"

Even as the words left his mouth, the emergency lights flickered and a stronger gust of wind made the rain hit the windows with a noise like gravel striking the glass. Yami stood. "As just demonstrated, we have to be prepared for things to get worse as the storm approaches. The center has switched to generator power, but even that will not last indefinitely. And this building is, unfortunately, not built to withstand a typhoon. Hence the evacuation."

"Yeah, okay." Joey sounded sheepish. "Guess I kinda forgot that, what with the zombies and all." He ran his fingers through his hair and

sighed. "Is it too much to ask to only have to deal with one life-threatening disaster at a time?"

Mai laughed. "Apparently so." Following Yami's example, she got to her feet. Briskly, she added, "Okay, so what do we need to be doing?"

Yami set Mai and Joey to pulling food from the pantry and going through the kitchen cabinets to find anything that might be useful. He told them to pack everything obviously helpful into the reusable shopping bags that were stored on a hook inside the pantry. For the rest, to pile it on the table and they would sort it out once everything else was done. Then he and Yugi went to check the bedrooms.

Yugi grabbed a pillow off the bed in Mokuba's bedroom and removed the pillowcase. Holding it, he smiled at Yami's raised eyebrow and said, "It'll work as a bag for whatever we find."

"Good idea." Yami quickly acquired a pillowcase bag for himself. "You check the _en suite_ in here, I'll take Seto's rooms. We can meet up by the guest rooms -- those are at the end of the hall."

"Got it."

Splitting up, they made swift work of the bedrooms and attached baths. Yugi found a first-aid kit in the _en suite_ , along with some over the counter pain medication. He thought for a moment, then took the toilet paper roll off its holder and checked under the sink for spares. Everything went into his pillowcase. In the bedroom, he found a flashlight in the nightstand, along with a solar charger that might come in handy. They went into his makeshift bag along with a bag of hard candies he found underneath an open book lying next to the bedside lamp.

After glancing around the bedroom one last time, Yugi hurried to the end of the hallway, where he found Yami just emerging from one of the other bedrooms. The pillowcase in his hand bulged a bit, showing that his search had been fruitful as well. While part of him was glad they weren't empty-handed, another part was uncomfortable with what felt a lot like looting.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Yugi asked, shifting from foot to foot as he stared at the bag in his hands.

"It's for a good cause," Yami assured him. "Believe me, no one is going to be offended that we went through their things if it means our survival. This will help Mokuba, too, after all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It just feel weird." Yugi hefted his pillowcase and put a determined look on his face. "Okay. What's next?"

"Mokuba and Seto are the only ones who actually live here full-time, but the rest of us have left a few things in the guest rooms." Yami opened the door of the guest suite and went in, motioning for Yugi to join him. "I'm not entirely sure what may be here, but we should check and see if there's anything useful."

As they searched the closets and nightstands, Yugi said, "You don't live here?"

"No, I have an apartment at the Palace Hotel. Mahaad and his wife live there as well, along with her brothers. Seto prefers a bit more independence, so he and Mokuba maintain their own space here."

"About that..." Yugi was hesitant, but curious. "What did you and Seto mean when you said _Mokuba_ was the one who was adopted? And why does Seto call him 'little brother'? Isn't Mokuba older than Seto?"

Yami laughed. "Mokuba is in his thirties, Yugi."

"Yes? That was kind of my point." Neither Seto nor Yami looked to be more than in their mid-twenties at the most, though Yugi had no idea how vampires aged.

"Mokuba is human. Seto isn't -- and Seto is quite a bit older than thirty."

"How much older is 'quite a bit', exactly?" Yugi wondered, poking his head in the walk-in closet. It was empty.

"About 2, 970 years -- give or take a decade." Yami dropped that bombshell absently, as if he were only half paying attention to the conversation.

When Yugi looked around, he saw that Yami had moved to the window and was staring out into the storm. After a second's hesitation, Yugi joined him. From this angle, he could see the beach beyond the convention center. The surf was wild, tearing at the shoreline.

The storm-tossed waves were getting closer. Higher. They looked hungry.

When he turned his eyes to the sky, things were no better. There was something about the way the dark clouds were moving that sent shivers down his spine. After a moment, he figured out that it was because the clouds, so black they were edged in purple like fresh bruises, were roiling _against_ the wind. He double-checked. Yep, the palms were bent almost double, their thrashing crowns shedding fronds that the wind carried inland. But the clouds were boiling in the opposite direction, as if there were two stormfronts rather than one; the hurricane encroaching on the island was one, while the strange purple-edged clouds formed a second, this one an unnartual wall just beyond and above the surf.

"Yami--" Tearing his gaze away from the phenomenon, Yugi saw that his companion's eyes were already fixed on the sky.

"I see it, Yugi." Yami's deep voice was hushed, filled with trepidation. After another moment, he turned away from the window. His expression was solemn, even grim. "We'd best get back to the others."

When their eyes met, Yugi could see the worry in Yami's.

"Let's hope Seto and the others return soon," Yami said. "We may have even less time than I thought."

　

　

 


End file.
